Online Reporter
Martin Kadzere
ZIMBABWE is targeting full self-sufficiency in basal fertiliser by the end of 2027 and aims to become a net exporter of both basal and top-dressing nutrients to the Southern African region before 2030, an official has said.
Addressing delegates at a recent industrial summit in Harare, Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe (IDCZ) general manager Mr Edward Tome outlined an aggressive retooling and recapitalisation road map across State-owned fertiliser manufacturing entities.
The strategy, implemented under the Mutapa Investment Fund framework, seeks to eliminate imports, capitalise on raw material supply chains from emerging domestic industries and position Zimbabwe as a key agro-industrial hub within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Mutapa has initiated a US$153,1 million programme to rehabilitate Zimbabwe’s domestic fertiliser value chain and curb the severe foreign currency drain on input imports.
The funding centres on direct capital allocations to recapitalise State-owned manufacturing entities across the entire production ecosystem.
Fertiliser ranks among Zimbabwe’s largest foreign currency drains, with US$330 million to US$400 million spent annually importing basal and nitrogenous nutrients.
Curbing this significant import exposure remains a central pillar of the Government’s broader import substitution strategy, which aims to shield the economy from external supply chain shocks, conserve foreign exchange reserves and boost local manufacturing capacity.
Central to the basal fertiliser drive is a new processing and expansion initiative centred at Dorowa Mine, designed to scale processing output to up to 3,6 million tonnes annually of varied basal fertilisers and specialised agricultural chemicals.
The ambitious capacity target far exceeds Zimbabwe’s national basal demand — estimated at 400 000 tonnes annually — creating a massive export surplus for the regional trade corridor.
“We are in the process of modernising and retooling all our basal fertiliser-producing companies and before the end of 2027, Zimbabwe will not import any basal fertiliser,” Mr Tome assured.
He said with regional basal fertiliser demand standing at 3,2 million tonnes, Zimbabwe’s increased output will allow the country to transition into a net regional exporter within the next two years.
“We have got a basal fertiliser production plant which we are setting up in Dorowa . . . (and with that) we should become a regional agro-industrial hub, starting with self-sufficiency in basal fertilisers,” said Mr Tome.
“This, we are doing, such that we are not run over by other countries as we comply with AfCFTA regulations.”
On top-dressing fertilisers, retooling efforts are underway at Kwekwe-based Sable Chemical, where capacity is being rehabilitated to produce 240 000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate (AN) annually, roughly 50 to 60 percent of national demand.
Mr Tome noted that emerging coal-to-fertiliser ventures coming on stream are expected to close the remaining 200 000-tonne supply gap.
Fertiliser remains a vital input in agriculture, constituting a major driver of production costs across the sector.
While Zimbabwe continues to scale up agricultural output, as evidenced by record yields in wheat and tobacco, the upstream input manufacturing industry has missed out on this growth owing to over-reliance on imported inputs.
Economic analysts argue that strategically recapacitating domestic fertiliser producers will unlock immense value by curtailing foreign currency outflows, strengthening local value chains and creating thousands of industrial jobs. The urgency of local production is underscored by Zimbabwe’s vulnerability to global shocks.
Heavy reliance on cash crops like tobacco leaves the broader economy exposed to external volatility. Illustrating this risk, a recent economic report warns that local fertiliser prices could skyrocket by up to 120 percent if the conflict in the Middle East leads to prolonged disruptions along global trade corridors.
According to the April Zimbabwe Economic Pulse Report by local think tank Africa Economic Development Strategies (AEDS), a worst-case scenario involving the prolonged militarisation or closure of the Strait of Hormuz for more than 12 months could plunge the country into chronic input shortages and trigger severe food insecurity.
The Middle East is a global manufacturing hub for natural gas and petroleum-derived inputs, with an estimated 30 percent of global fertiliser supplies, particularly urea, ammonia and sulphur, transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.
Since Zimbabwe continues to import significant quantities of finished nitrogenous fertilisers and raw chemical ingredients owing to constrained local capacity, the country remains acutely vulnerable to maritime supply shocks.
AEDS warns that supply bottlenecks could drive up local fertiliser prices by 70 to 120 percent, forcing smallholders and commercial farmers to scale back nutrient application rates drastically.
Although farmers acknowledge the inevitability of higher fertiliser prices, their primary worry stems from supplier indiscipline and potential price gouging amid global market supply strains.
Weighing in on the issue, the Zimbabwe Farmers union (ZFU) stressed that while price hikes are unavoidable, Government monitoring is essential to ensure an equitable, win-win framework across the agricultural value chain.
Clarifying the union’s position, ZFU executive director Mr Paul Zakariya noted that farmers are not calling for rigid price controls, but are, instead, lobbying for market fairness to shield producers from supplier exploitation.
He urged stakeholders to establish a balanced pricing mechanism that safeguards supplier viability without eroding farmer margins —underscoring the symbiotic, interdependent relationship between agricultural producers and input manufacturers.
In an interview on the sidelines of a recent regional agricultural assembly, the Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development, Dr Anxious Masuka, affirmed that a robust framework was being implemented locally.
“In Zimbabwe, we are already discussing the localisation of the fertiliser industry, and there is a Cabinet committee that is focusing on that. We have made very important progress in that regard,” he said.
Beyond agricultural inputs, the IDCZ is aligning its heavy engineering portfolio with the operationalisation of the Dinson Iron and Steel Company plant in Manhize to create a broader industrial and logistics ecosystem.
Mr Tome said its engineering unit, Deven Engineering, will leverage primary steel outputs from the Manhize plant to restart the manufacturing of railway wagons and heavy transport equipment, a prerequisite for moving millions of tonnes of bulk industrial inputs like phosphate and finished fertiliser.
“We have gone back and are starting again to manufacture railway wagons,” he said. “If Manhize comes on stream, Zimbabwe will soon be the industrial giant that Africa pays respect to.”
